Chapter 2: Arcane Occupation

Princess Celestia sighed once more as she dropped her head slightly and closed her eyes. Although she had only been awake for a few hours, the strain of her conflicting thoughts had made her eyes somewhat sore.

The celestial mare gently shut her bedroom door behind her with her golden aura of magic, the hollow 'clunk' of the latch locking automatically echoing for a second or two before it died down, returning silence to the lush room.

Breathing a worn sigh, Celestia drew a stout crimson curtain positioned upon the wall to the side, revealing several golden bells, holes below each. Using her supreme magic once again, she tugged lightly on a thin chain hanging from the bell second from the left, which produced a delightful metallic chirp. After less than three seconds, a young mare's voice came through clear from the hole below the bell, sounding timid, whilst also enthusiastic.

"Yes, your majesty?" The shy-sounding girl asked from a place unseen. "What do you require?"

With a cheery smile, the princess replied. "I couldn't trouble you for a round of tea, could I?" She asked demurely.

"O-of course, your majesty... It's no trouble at all." Came the reply, sounding more than a little flustered.

"Thank you." Princess Celestia simply responded before drawing the thick red drape and stepping away from the wall.

In a slightly out of character moment, though she wasn't fully aware - nor would she have cared, the princess climbed back into the perfectly made bed and laid on her back, spreading her legs out to all four corners, enjoying the cool, smooth covers beneath her fur. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath through her nose, inhaling the fragrant scent of the early summer morning wafting through the partly open windows at the far end. She had been feeling stressed up until lately, and now things were beginning to reduce and simmer down, she could begin to reform back to her usual placid self for a while.

Then there was a soft knock at the door.

Apparently startled, princess Celestia sat up rather rapidly, muttering to herself "That was quick..." Before propping her back up on her many pillows and pulling the door open with her magic.

On the other side of the wooden entrance stood an impish-looking Cantor, who still had his hoof raised against where the door would have been. When he spotted the princess relaxing in her bed, he cracked a cheery welcoming smile in the mare's general direction.

"Cantor?" The princess exclaimed with alarm, scooting from her night-time throne and dropping daintily to the black and white checked floor. She addressed the stallion as she walked toward him. "What might you be doing here?"

Cantor chuckled, looking up at the alicorn twice his height. "I could as you the same question."

Celestia appeared shocked and lost. She stopped between Cantor and her bed with a dumbfounded expression. "I... live here..." She stated awkwardly.

Cantor's smile died and his eyes slowly fell to the floor in what appeared to be intense thought.

"Is everything alright, Cantor?" The white mare asked with a comforting tone.

After a second's pause, the young stallion shook his head and cleared his thoughts. "Yeah," He said with an embarrassed sigh. "I'm fine... Sorry. I just... Your question caught me off guard: I've got something really important to tell you."

"No need to apologise." The princess cooed in a sudden relief of doubt, a familiar steady smile returning to her face. "Why don't you tell me your news over a cup of tea? I trust you have a taste for it?"

"Of course, princess..." Cantor replied, his previous grin returning with a little more composure.

The pair paced steadily over to the large four-poster bed, its fair silken curtains coloured a transparent lilac swaying in the ethereal breeze. Celestia perched herself atop the royal blue covers, and Cantor pulled up a comfortable chair beside her, listening to songbirds voices carried faintly in the wind.

"I don't usually see you this early in the mornings." Princess Celestia commented. "Of course, I don't begrudge you visiting my home." She continued with a smile, making it unclear as to whether she was being sarcastic or not.

Disrupted by the princess' latest comment, Cantor became somewhat uncomfortable. "Oh," He said, slightly dis-heartened. "I-if it's a bad time... I could leave..."

Catching scent of the stallion's apparent feeling rejection, and by some fault of her own, Celestia intervened. "Oh, no. Of course; you're no trouble, Cantor." She quickly cleared up with a disarming smile. "I'm just not used to unscheduled arrivals this early in the morning." The alicorn mare shifted position to lay down on her side, resting her head on her feather-stuffed pillow, her aqueous mane billowing out beneath. "Besides," She added with a shallow yawn. "I'd expect you to have work to do."

For a while, Cantor was distracted by the princess' sweeping and flawless curves as she lie on her side, but as a brief moment passed, her words finally registered in his mind. "Oh, yeah, that..." Cantor answered, shifting his gaze to Celestia's deep indigo eyes after admiring her buxom hips. "Just some paperwork later today: nothing special. I pretty much have the day off." He finished with a joyful smirk.

Celestia began to reply, but held her tongue when she caught sight of the newly recruited young maid standing timidly in the edge of the doorway, peering in with fear and a considerable degree of awe. She had pure white fur, mostly covered by a generic maid's uniform: a kind of all-body black apron with white frills around the seams. Her lime green hair was held together in a tidy bun, seeking protection behind a frilly white headpiece which tied up in a large laced bow behind her ears. A feint blossom-coloured glow surrounded her horn as well as a silver tray just beside her head which accommodated a teapot, a few more than two cups and an assortment of sugars and flavoured drops sitting atop its shiny metallic surface.

"Ah, tea's here." The princess chirped happily. For the third time that morning, the solar mare dropped from her comfy bed and attended to the door. Cantor didn't follow, yet he still turned around and watched the scene unfold.

"You must be Soya." Princess Celestia said kindly, stopping further than she needed to before the skittish new mare.

"Y-yes, your majesty." The young girl replied, her fair lime eyes darting between the tray of refreshments, the floor, and on occasion, Celestia's eyes.

"I don't believe we've been introduced properly as of yet." Celestia stated, her unbreakable smile warm and comforting.

Cherry Blossom shook her head with a small motion. "No, your majesty." She replied, staring intently at the ground again.

"Well allow me to be the first to congratulate you on passing your housekeeper's examination." Said the princess with a gentle, yet proud voice. "I'm sure you'll make a fine maid."

The skittish maid seemed to blush ever so slightly in light of the compliment, though she also happened to step out from behind the wall and stand free. A broad, mildly ecstatic grin rose up from the nervous mare, and she gave a slight courtesy toward the princess. "Thank you, your majesty... I uh, I have the drinks you called for, your majesty."

"Please," The alicorn mare started before another word could be spoken. "You may call me 'princess', or 'Celestia'..." She turned to the stallion watching from the chair some distance into the room, giving a sly, very out of character wink as she continued. "Or both, if you prefer..." Princess Celestia turned back to her new maid with an even brighter smile than before. "This is my good friend, Cantor." The princess continued, gesturing vaguely behind herself with one of the golden-shoes upon her hoof.

The maid and Cantor met eyes, but their confrontation didn't progress more than an awkward wave and another blush.

"I don't suppose you've heard of him?" Celestia asked, noting the fact that the new recruit had already taken a more relaxed stance in the corridor.

"Yes..." The red-haired girl answered quietly. "He has a statue in the gardens."

"That's right." The princess affirmed with a nod.

"I wanted a window." Cantor piped up comically.

"Is the sculpture not adequate for your 'valiance'?" Asked the princess with a sarcastic darkness to her tone.

"No, no, it's cool..." Cantor replied agreeably, though it was still clear he was stretching out the 'joke' he assumed was funny. "But since I, you know, saved the world, they could've at least done me a favour and made me look like I had a bigger-"

"Thank you, for your services this morning,Soya." Celestia said with an odd smirk and very lightly flushed cheeks. The princess took the tray from the maid's pink aura and levitated it to her night stand. "You are free to return to your duties."

Nodding once again and, seeming to have recovered some of her new-job fright, the mint eyed mare backed slowly into the hallway, bowing down low and holding her submissive posture for a strong two seconds before returning to standing. "Thank you." She said with a sheepish giggle. "Have a nice day, your madj-... uh, princess Celestia." Her face flushed a bright crimson before she turned tail and trotted off down the corridor at a remarkable pace, her hoofsteps almost silent after she rounded the corner and made her way down the subsequent flight of stairs.

Celestia smiled, feeling somewhat more nostalgaic than usual this morning. "The new ones are all like that..." She said with a chuckle, closing the cumbersome oak doors with a waft of magic. "Especially the young ponies: they do not yet realise I am a kind and forgiving ruler."

"Rather self-asserted, aren't we, princess?" Cantor asked coyly as the tall mare strode easily towards him.

"Well..." Sighed Celestia, reaching the bed and planting herself upon the sheets yet again, pondering for a moment if she should let herself get too comfortable. "Sometimes you just have to lead with less authority if you want your subjects to respect you greater..." She levitated the voluminous teapot from the tray, following it with two moderately sized teacups, simultaneously working the milk, hot brew, and in Cantor's case, sugar into the cups, stirring both drinks slowly with a thin silver spoon. "At least I need not concern myself over your confidence around my sister and I." The tall mare stated with a regal chuckle. "Speaking of yourself, what was the news you came to tell me about today?" She asked as she presented Cantor with a full cup of gently steaming tea.

Taking the drink, which was still slowly circulating in its container, with his own magic, Cantor cleared his throat and leaned forward slightly. "Twilight's uh... pregnant." He said with a clear sense of unease as to how the princess would react, only after saying it, realising that he would have preffered for this moment to have been a little more climactic.

Mid-sip, her lips loosely pursed into her drink, princess Celestia's contented eyes widened in disbelief. By no means hastily, the alicorn mare turned to face the stallion, who had developed an impish smile and shrugged lightly when forging eye-contact with the princess. "Surprise..." He added with a great deal of embarrassment, more for Celestia's reaction than to the actual news.

Swallowing her mouthful of hot tea and setting the cup back down on her dark-stained wooden night stand, princess Celestia reclaimed her composure by raising her eyebrows in an oh-so royal expression of alarm. "Well that was certainly a wake-up call..." She affirmed in monotone.

Cantor huffed in agreement. "You're telling me..."

"How long ago may this have happened?" The princess asked with growing interest, though it was still unclear to Cantor at this time whether this was a positive interest.

Cantor stared into the ceiling, almost as if he needed to ponder the scenario. "Last weekend, I think..." He said convincingly.

"The Saturday just gone?" Celestia asked, leaning in toward Cantor from her spot on the bed, her ears held firmly up in attention. "Was that not Twilight Sparkle's birthd-..." The princess' eyes widened as she made the obvious connection. "Ohhh, I... see..." She finished, her cheeks becoming a little flushed.

Although Cantor began sipping at his tea some time ago, an unwelcome silence dominated the air for several seconds before the blushing princess asked a further question. "Was... I-if you don't mind me inquiring, that is... Was it an accident?"

"Princess..." Cantor sighed light-heartedly, swiping a hoof at the air with a developing blush of his own.

"Do not let my rosy cheeks mislead you: this is a life-changing scenario." The princess explained with serious eyes, scooting closer to Cantor. "Have you decided what you are going to do?"

Cantor nodded happily. "Yup: we're keeping it. Twilight and me had that 'conversation' just before I came."

"It would have been more punctual to say: 'Twilight and I'..." Came a second regal voice from Cantor's six o'clock. Turning quickly around, Cantor noticed princess Luna standing partly through the doorway to her sister's bedroom, and his smile grew substantially. "Also," The princess of the night continued mischievously, stepping completely through the door and pacing steadily into the room. "Surely that particular conversation should have occurred a great deal of time before you came rather than your specified time of... 'just'."

Cantor shook his head. "You dirty mare..." He sighed with a laugh.

"You know this to be true..." The lunar princess replied with a coy smirk.

Celestia, however, didn't find the greatest amount of humour from the joke. "...Sister," She began sternly as the dark blue alicorn paused by Cantor's side. "You will one day sit the throne and rule over the entire world, carrying both the sun and the moon on your shoulders. It is customary to develop the mental maturity of something more than a teenage filly!"

Celestia seemed to grow frustrated near to the end of her preach, though Luna didn't seem at all phased; whispering into Cantor's ear: "She's like that when she doesn't get enough". To which he and the night princess burst out laughing.

"Apparently you still have a lot to learn, dear sister..." Celestia commented with a discouraged, yet not at all menacing frown.

Cantor managed to set his cup of tea down before he dropped it or spilled any of its contents as he laughed.

Luna stopped mid-giggle, proclaiming to Cantor: "Hey, you're a boy."

"Well spotted." The stallion replied before beginning to laugh again."

The shadowed princess seemed enthralled by her own mentality as she continued to the sounds of Cantor's softening laughter. "I was just pondering: you may be able to - you know, 'fulfil the princess' needs'..." This point appeared to set the pair of alicorns off into a fit of giggles, yet the much more collected mare sighed with a simple smirk.

Celestia closed her eyes and spoke gently, though loudly enough to be heard over her company's foalish amusement. "Actually, that may not be entirely out of the question."

Silence had never been restored so quickly from such din in a long time. Both Cantor and Luna clammed up instantly and turned to face each other with confused and worried looks. Although The latter emotion for the stallion was much less severe. Much less severe.

"Huh?" Cantor quizzed in mild shock. "What does that mean?"

Without replying immediately, princess Celestia rose from her bed (though under her own grounds this time) and paced slowly over to a pair of thin floor-to-ceiling curtains which must have been around twenty feet tall, drawing and securing them with magic before she reached the enormous window behind. The two 'chummy' alicorns waited and watched in anticipative silence.

"Have you ever wondered why there are so few alicorns alive to date, Cantor?" Princess Celestia asked as she peered out over the lush green valley her castle was built into, the mid-morning sun casting strong shadows over the tips and ridges of the mountainous terrain.

"Yeah, I guess." Cantor replied, glancing at Luna before adding: "Actually, I do quite a lot..."

Celestia took a long breath, summoning her tea towards her before taking a long, almost elderly in-nature sip and setting it back down. "Seventeen hundred and... eighty years ago, now..." She appeared to falter as she shook her head in departed reminiscence. "Has it already been that long...?" She quietly asked herself. Her company didn't seem to hear. "Anyway," She spoke aloud, returning to her previous topic and re-installing the attention onto herself. "All those years ago, an organisation known only as 'The Crimson Shade' made it their duty to torture and kill every alicorn they could find."

"What...?" Cantor asked in astonishment. "What the hell for!?"

"They had the deranged idea that in doing so, the karma of the universe would be restored." Celestia grumbled a sigh as her eyes traced the subtle tree line climbing the mountains outside. "I should explain that it was dark times then; very bad times: there were a lot of natural disasters with which we did not yet have the power to control. As a factor, a lot of villages and towns - even a few cities were wiped from the map, and a lot of lives were lost."

Cantor stood up with a frown. "Then why were the alicorns on the top of their hit-list?" He asked.

"The organisation believed that alicorns were special beings of divine power, and ones who had been blessed unfairly by the 'gods'..." Explained the princess with a curt sigh. "There is no question our race has a reputation for being worshipped for omnipotence: after all, no unicorn could match their power, so why question the alicorns' true limitation?" Swivelling around from the window and making her way back to an uncomfortable Cantor and the thoughtful - looking princess Luna beside him, the keeper of the sun pulled over several floor cushions and sat down on one, leaving the rest for the other two to choose from freely.

Celestia continued with an engaging yet sombre tone. "They reasoned that alicorns had been unrightfully given greater power. And as a factor, the rest of equine kind was forced to suffer the wrath of the world - despite the fact that the naturally occurring disasters affected the alicorns, too."

"What happened next?" Cantor enquired with a unusually fixated attention.

"We were hunted: game-seeker's proudest trophy... Murdered, cut up and sold on the black market to sadists who felt it was their duty to commit the ultimate atrocity and eat our flesh, eradicating any evidence of our existence. Alicorn horns were, and even more so now, one of the most expensive things you could buy... If you had the right connections, that is..."

Cantor grimaced. "That's horrible..." He said with empathy.

"The horns were ground down and forged with precious molten metals to create wickedly powerful magical jewellery, the wearer of which, would supposedly be granted the power of a 'god'." She shivered. "And that's not the part which gives me chills... It was a popular overshadowed form of entertainment to grind an incapacitated alicorn's horn down to nothing with files while they were still alive... Ponies would pay just... just to hear the screams..." With a quiet tsk of disgust, Celestia continued with a mournful expression. "A god, or a devil... Such titles are only words when power is at the forefront of tyrannical interest..."

Following the princess' dark soliloquy, Cantor waited a moment before asking further questions. "So why did they stop? Why aren't alicorns extinct?"

Princess Celestia shifted position on her cushion, making herself more comfortable and trying to force the old photographs from her memory as her tea drifted across the room towards her. "Well that's the thing... we really don't know why... The Crimson Shade must've known they hadn't eradicated the alicorn gene pool because my sister and I were ruling at the time." She took a small sip of her gradually cooling tea before continuing. "Though they did come close. Even today, the alicorn is one of the rarest creatures on the planet: coming only third before the Draconequi and the elusive Umbras, to which it is believed there is only one left."

Luna had heard this story many times in the past, and although the bloodshed stopped centuries ago, the thought of it coming again haunted her.

Cantor still appeared puzzled. "They just stopped?" He asked as Celestia finished her tea. "But what about the disasters? Were they not still happening?"

"No." Answered Celestia, her eyebrows raised in an enthralled manner. "That is why the incident was so disconcerting: it was almost as if the Shade were right: kill enough alicorns, and harmony would be restored..."

"Surely you don't believe that, do you?" Cantor asked in disbelief, eyes wide with atheism.

"We cannot rule out that possibility, but nevertheless, it is imperative that we preserve this race: there is no greater and purer magic than alicorn magic." Princess Celestia affirmed, setting her empty cup down beside the teapot. "Aside from of course, the study of the magic of friendship - and we all know who we can turn to for answers upon that..." She finished with a smile. Cantor slowly nodded in serine agreement, staring through the large window in the far wall at the clouds' shifting shadows on the chiselled mountainsides. "This is where you come in."

Celestia's comment caught Cantor off-guard, and bewildered him slightly. "Huh?" He asked in a daze. "What about me?"

Princess Celestia calmly brought three cups toward the group. Cantor and Luna took a cushion and sat down as the opalescent-maned mare poured three more brews. "As well as wondering why there are so few alicorns, I trust you also ponder how they come about."

Cantor dipped his head slightly with a pained expression. "Not so much." He replied.

Celestia stiffened her head and passed everyone a drink. "No bother..." She replied.

"I thought it was just... you know, the usual way. Just biological reproduction." The male alicorn stated, feeling the steam from his tea condense on his nose.

"Yes..." Princess Celestia answered slowly. "...And no..." She added abstractly. "There have been two alicorn births since the end of the 'Crimson Era'; it is not wholly necessary to procreate when you have a lifetime spanning millennia." The princess explained fluently. "However," She continued on a lower octave. "There is no question we are rare, and without alicorn heir, risk annihilation not only for our race, but for the entire equine species."

"So where do I come in?" Cantor asked straight out. "Do you want me to take over the throne? You know I'm not going to outlive you. We've had this conversation before."

Noticing his defensive attitude, princess Celestia simply answered the stallion's question. "I am aware of your 'limitations', and I commend you for being so at ease with them: many ponies aren't so accepting. But since you have traded your immortality for a normal life in the realm of the living, I shall see to it that I am direct..." The princess took a sip of tea as the two other alicorns listened intently. "As one of three male alicorns in the world, you will need to produce an heir to the throne."

Cantor's jaw dropped. "What?" He asked in disbelief.

"I wish for you to mate with myself or my sister in order to increase our population." Celestia revealed, incurring another titanic silence.

Mouths agape, Cantor and princess Luna turned to each other before shying their attention back to Celestia, who wore a sincere expression.

"You can not be serious." Luna exclaimed, her eyes shrunken. Celestia didn't respond, but her unfaltering expression answered her sister's inquisition. "Why have you not discussed this with me, sister!?" She cried.

"Because I was waiting for a situation such as this." Celestia replied nonchalantly. "Though I must say I am once again displeased by your lack of composure, sister." The white mare scoured.

"My apologies." Responded Luna, her mouth still agape. "But this is not a light topic to be discussing this early in the morning."

"However, it is an important one: one which needed to have been spoken of for some time." Said Celestia firmly. "Alicorns may be created through a process known as 'Assentue', Cantor." She continued, clearing her throat and in doing so, seemed to loosen up the atmosphere substantially. "It has only ever nearly happened once in the past, and may well happen again." She paused as she realised what had just been said. She took several deep breaths and managed to slow the conversation back down to an earlier pace. "We hardly ever speak of it, and even now, saying that to you may have been far too much."

Cantor didn't reply, but closed his now slightly open mouth and listened to the princess. "Twilight Sparkle may bear an alicorn foal, though that would be unlikely since the alicorn gene is highly recessive; even an alicorn parent copulation has a small chance of breeding similar offspring."

Cantor frowned thoughtfully. "But why me? Why not any other alicorn stallion?" He asked. "You said it yourself: there are others out there. Is it because you don't know where they are?"

Princess Celestia took a brief pause, taking a drink before responding. "No, we know where they are." She answered casually. "But you are... How to say... 'readily available'...?" She stated, concerned about offending her friend to some extent. "It has been proven you are capable of... 'producing', and more to the point, we know each other: it will be far less awkward if it were two friends doing it, would it not?"

All three ponies developed a mild blush, but Cantor replied. "Actually, princess, I think it would be even more awkward." He affirmed, looking toward Luna for confidence.

"Why are you staring at me!?" The princess of the night exclaimed, shuffling away from the stallion. "Don't imagine for one second that I would... D-... Have... W-with you!" She said with an appalled expression, her face bright crimson. "Don't even dream: I'll know."

Cantor raided his eyebrows, and his cheeks deepened in their colour. "What? N-no, I didn't- I wasn't! I just... I was just-"

"No!" Luna interrupted, staring intently at the chest of draws on the other side of the room, her wings raised defensively. "I don't want to hear it. J-just forget we ever had this conversation!" She finished in a huff, folding her forelegs over her chest in exasperation.

With a moment gone past, Cantor turned back to a mildly flushed Celestia, who wore an face of shock. "I'm sorry." She said softly. "I didn't realise it was such an imposing question to ask: things have certainly changed since I was young..." She leaned back slightly, placing her forelegs behind her for support. "I can remember when I was only a few hundred years old - before my sister was even born, spending my youth chatting with the colts in the harem..." Once again, the princess realised she had said to much, though no harm was done. "Oh, my..." She sighed. "Please disregard that last comment."

Cantor turned his gaze downward and thought intensely for a brief moment.

"I understand it is a lot to ask from you, and of course, Twilight's feelings come greatly into play in this situation." Spoke Celestia with empathy. "But please bear in mind that it is a vitally important decision."

"Oh, yeah." Cantor replied sarcastically with a grin. "I'm sure sleeping with a princess would be a horrible experience..."

"Hm," Celestia chortled briefly. "Very amusing..."

"In all seriousness, though, princess," Cantor started with genuine concern. "If you really mean it, I'll go away and think about it, and by 'think about it', I mean ask Twilight if it's alright, because I'm all up for it." He affirmed with an immature smile.

"That means two things..." Luna chimed in before returning to the conversation. "I'm not going to do it." She stated. "It would feel so weird doing it with a friend." She said as she eyed Cantor's body up and down. "However..." Continued Luna. "It would make a very nice change to the usual boys at the harem."

"Time to go, I think." Cantor hurriedly stated, rising to his hooves and backing away from the girls. "It's tough for stallions; being the one sixth of the population: its almost as if all the mares are compelled to experiment, like we're a different species."

Luna smirked. "Is that how Saturday went?" She asked coyly. Cantor just sighed. "Where are you off to, anyway?"

"Yes." Celestia agreed. "I believe you said you don't have work until much later. Won't you stay a while? We haven't heard from you for over a week."

"Sorry, princess," Said Cantor with a shrug. "But this kinda got really weird really quick." The stallion crossed the room at a trot, opening one of the balcony doors as he neared them, letting a bold draft waft into the room. "I'm gonna go practice my fireworks." He called, facing the mares from the stone overlook. "I'll see you later."

And with that, he dove from the balcony, skimming the shear mountainside before extending his wings and pulling up into the sky, and quickly became little more than just a small fragment silhouetted against the rich blue expanse.

The two princesses strolled over to the balcony and watched as their friend flew out of sight. They stood there for a large number of seconds, just watching the clouds above shift and change with the wind before someone spoke.

"I feel bad, sister..." Princess Luna said out of character; it was almost always her older sibling who spoke first in times like these.

Celestia turned to Luna with worrisome eyes. "Are you unwell?" She asked.

"...I don't think so..." The smaller mare replied after an exaggerated pause, sounding rather depleted. "I just... You know that feeling, where you worry about something, o-or somepony, but you have no reason to? As in, no reason whatsoever?"

Celestia nodded softly. "I do." She said, placing a hoof gently on her sister's shoulder and gesturing a return inside. "Come on, sister..." She continued with a mellow smile. "Let's go and have breakfast. Perhaps you're merely hungry."

Wordlessly, princess Luna began to follow her sister inside, leaving the balcony door open to let the pleasant air in. But before she crossed onto the marbled floor, she turned back to the sky, breathed a refreshing lungful of air, and slowly let it out in a long and bothersome sigh.

"You knocked her up!?" Rainbow Dash exclaimed, planting her hooves firmly onto the table, adding a clatter of cutlery and chinking of glasses to the cascade of the summer downpour rolling down the windows and the din of the busy diner.

"Sshh!" Cantor hissed in response, pressing his hoof to his lips.

"Well, there was no means of wrapping a ribbon around the topic, now was there, Rainbow?" Rarity remarked as she leaned across the table, resting her forelegs on the smooth cream-coloured wood.

"I never even considered you two havin' a kid." Applejack commented. from beside the white unicorn. "But I think it's stellar! Good on ya'!" She said with a grin.

"Thanks, Applejack." Replied Twilight graciously as she patted her stomach lightly. Though only a month under-way, the purple mare had developed a barely noticeable bump, which became much more prominent when seated. "I was wondering when we should tell you all, but since we all happened to be here today when the storm came in, I thought it best to let you know now." A bolt of lightning struck the hillside close-by and a crack of thunder shook the windows in their frames only seconds later. Fluttershy, predictably, jumped at both the flash and the rumble (as she had done the last dozen times that afternoon).

"Besides," Rainbow Dash started, pointing towards the lavender unicorn's stomach, but making an effort not to touch. "We would've started to suspect something sooner or later when you started expanding like a hot air balloon!" She cawed with a chortle.

Despite herself, Fluttershy voiced her view. "Well I think it's wonderful that Twilight's decided to do this." She said with vigour. "I'm so happy with my twins; I wouldn't trade them for the world." The yellow pegasus finished with a contented smile that dissolved once another thunderclap shook the restaurant and she gripped Applejack firmly.

"Three new foals in town!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed, enthusiastic as ever. "With Fluttershy's kids, and now yours, everything's gonna be so cute next year!"

"Indeed." Cantor replied agreeably. "I just hope this rocket-mission thing works out..." He added with a sombre tone.

Twilight closed her eyes as a cold chill ran down her spine. "Please don't say things like that." She said, shaking her head. "I'd be devastated if anything were to happen to you."

"Don't worry, Twi..." Cantor replied casually. "Nothing's gonna go wrong; I'll be fine." He said with a sigh, recalling the other five or six times he had had this conversation with the unicorn.

"I do worry, Cantor." Twilight sharply responded. "Now more than ever: this child needs a father. I know what you're like for getting injured, we all do... Not nearly as frequently as Rainbow Dash, but that's besides the point." She scorned. "This is so dangerous: it's so unpredictable. Even if that 'rocket' thingy does work, you can't be certain you'll get back." She paused and stared into the stallion's amber eyes. Her own violet orbs seemed lost and pleading. "Please..." She softly spoke. "Don't do this, stay here for a few years. Surely it is not of the greatest urgency that you go now."

Cantor shrugged dismissively. "I think it's the fact that it would be ridiculously expensive to keep the rocket maintained for that long after it's been finished rather than what it's actually going to be used for. That's what Celestia said, anyway." He explained.

Realising she couldn't particularly argue with that, Twilight gave up with a forbidding sigh. "I swear, with you around, I'll be grey before I'm thirty..." She grumbled, to which everypony found mildly amusing.

Cantor rested his foreleg on the edge of the table and slowly sipped at his over-sweet banana milkshake as she observed the setting. Ponies in aprons wearing formal collars were dashing to and from the kitchen taking orders and delivering meals of warm, nutty oats and other vegetarian servings to the many customers. Every time one of the waiters bumped through the kitchen doors, the powerful clatter of pots and pans could be heard, as well as the flustered cooks' yelling. The gale-force wind was blowing the rain sideways into the diner's windows, generating a constant roaring hiss against the glass.

He didn't know about his friends, (though Fluttershy was rather predictable) but Cantor loved a good thunderstorm: he relished in listening to the vengeful winds batter the buildings, knowing that there was no way he could suffer from the cold or the wet. In contrast, he loved getting caught in the rain, too: there was something so pleasurable about soaking in a red hot bath after getting drenched with freezing water. And then, there was the extreme attraction of 'cloudburning', which, needless to say, was brought to his attention by none other than Rainbow Dash...

Cloudburning was illegal for two reasons: one, that the act whips up the storm clouds and makes the lightning increadibly destructive if it were to strike a town, and two, it was just plain dangerous for the pegasi involved. The idea is to fly as fast as you can as close as you can, to the storm without touching the cloud. If you skimmed the surface even a little, the electric discharge through your body could kill you instantly. The reason it was so popular amongst thrill-seekers was because of the euphoric sensation felt as you zip past the high-electricity field.

One night, Rainbow convinced Cantor to go cloudburning with her, but on the second lap of the enormous storm, the pair had a head-on collision with a closing speed of over a thousand miles per hour. Amazingly, no one was killed, though the blue mare came off far worse than Cantor with a broken collar bone and a punctured lung. The two were found the next day unconscious in the mud, Rainbow bleeding through her mouth with a heart rate of less than 20bpm, and Cantor, who appeared to be simply sleeping.

In the hospital, following a lecture from the doctors, Twilight Sparkle, and the police, the two vowed never to do it again, especially seeing how much trouble and fear it had caused their friends. Hurting her friends: making them scared, affected Rainbow way more than Cantor however, and as a factor, this was one of the few times anyone from the group had ever seen Dash cry.

With his mind back in the restaurant, and learning that he had all but finished his milkshake, Cantor tuned in to Rainbow Dash's and Rarity's risqué conversation topic, as had everyone else at the table...

"So you're not into it?" Asked Rainbow with a quizzical look on her face.

Rarity, who wore a bright rouge cheeks (which were not part of her makeup) answered defensively. "I really don't feel as though I owe you enough to comment." The well-spoken unicorn argued.

Rainbow Dash groaned loudly. "You can't tell us you're going into a new line of work, let slip it's bondage, then clam up!" The brightly coloured pegasus yelled. "Spill!"

"Dashie!" Pinkie Pie chimed in, directing a scowl towards the blue mare. "Don't be so mean!" She giggled and turned to the embarrassed unicorn. "Seriously, though, it you're getting into that, can you hook me up?" She asked nonchalantly, resting her foreleg on the table and examining her hoof.

Everyone but Rarity looked to be astonished toward the pink pony's question. "What?" Pinkie asked with a innocently confused expression.

"I do hope you're joking..." Rainbow Dash murmured, leaning in.

Pinkie, in her true fashion, met the response with a giggle. "Ha, ha! Sure I'm not, Dashie!" She scoffed.

"Well that's unlike you." Quipped Twilight.

Pinkie swiped at the air with her hoof. "Oh, come on!" She insisted casually. "If Rarity wants to sell those kinds of things, why not help her out and buy some? I've got a bunch at home; I'd love to compare them to some 'local produce'..." As she spoke, everyone seated at the table grew more and more red. Their only confide was that with the rain and the din of the restaurant, the 'eccentric' young mare's ramblings couldn't be heard. "And it'd help out your business!" Pinkie continued, gesturing a hoof toward the flushed white unicorn. "I have 'connections'..." She finished, gently pressing her hooves together in a pyramid as her eyes shifted playfully left and right.

Experiencing an almighty silence between the friends, no one even thought to try and start a new topic: whatever it was would sound odd after that performance...

"...I, um..." Rarity began, pulling a 'Fluttershy' and partially hiding behind her mane out of pure embarrassment. "I suppose I shouldn't feel embarrassed... After all, it was my business investment. And aside from that," She said, becoming more headstrong as she spoke. "I'm... I'm interested in bondage. It's an art form, and I shall hope you can accept me for what I enjoy." Rarity finished on a firm note, though despite her new found confidence, she couldn't help but close her eyes since she knew this was a side of herself her friends would have never imagined existed.

There was a second pause, and torturous in Rarity's mind: somehow her friends were thinking she was some kind of sadist: a fiend, a freak. Even after all these years, they still didn't care enough to accept her for who she was. The more she thought about it, the more it occurred to her that Pinkie was having a joke: she had a reputation for taking jokes too far, but this time, the 'joke' was of a topic close to heart. And Rarity regretted ever mentioning the subject in the first place.

"Ah... Sure, okay..." Applejack began, breaking the silent streak. "What's it matter, anyway? Everypony's got their thing..." Said the tan earth pony with a smile. Rarity opened her eyes and met the blonde mare's own emerald peepers.

"I must say, Rarity," Twilight began. "I never expected a conversation like that to turn so... so..."

"Heartfelt?" Cantor proposed.

The lavender unicorn nodded. "Yeah." She replied agreeably "That'll do." She then turned back to her purple-maned friend and grinned. "We don't care! Besides, in friendship, you have to expect that your friends have different interests to you, and even in situations like this, their feelings should come first." She shut her eyes and smiled before coughing awkwardly when she realised she had been 'gushing' to some extent. "Sorry..." She sighed with a blush. "I'll have to write that one down..."

Rarity scanned the group, and as she did, a warm smile lifted her cheeks. "Thank you, girls." She started, adding the sole stallion's name out of courtesy before continuing. "For a moment there, I was afraid you were going to shun me for what I enjoy."

"Oh, we'd never do that." Cantor responded, rolling his eyes. "Especially not me: I'm into some pretty weird stuff!" He said with a laugh.

Twilight heard the comment and frowned. "What sort of 'stuff'?" She interrogated.

With a wayward smirk, the alicorn answered. "You know: 'stuff'... As in, 'in the back, on the top shelf of the restricted section' - stuff..."

The purple unicorn's pressurising expression fell to more of a displeased mother's. "Please tell me you haven't been in there again..." She groaned. "At least not past section three..."

The stallion's smirk broadened. "Section five." He replied, amber eyes wide with mischief.

Twilight clucked her tongue and tried to look annoyed, but as she felt the teenage colt's grin burn into her periphery, she couldn't help but giggle.

Applejack patted the white mare on the back, a little too vigorously than intended. "Come on, Rare," She said casually, though hearing her name shortened in such a way made the unicorn feel odd, even a little uncomfortable. "The next round's on me." She proclaimed, waiting for the next waiter who didn't seem all that busy and ordering everypony a drink.

Cantor opted for a simple carrot juice this time: he'd already had two milkshakes and was starting to feel a little sick. Though it was only after placing the order that he realised the contrast of flavours and textures may not have been all that good of an idea...

Rarity, now appearing to glow with a serene halo, leaned forward and stared at Cantor. "Tell me," She asked slowly. "What sort of obligations does this outer-space programme detail...?"

The white stallion scratched his head. "Well it's not all that complex." He started. "At least from my point of view..."

As Cantor was about to continue, the formally dressed pony carrying a tray of glasses became a focus point. The wine red earth pony paused at the loaded table and gradually passed out the group's drinks: a reasonable collection of beverages, except for (surprise, surprise) Rarity, who ordered a mango and passion fruit smoothie. (With a straw and a novelty umbrella... Of course...)

"Anyway," Cantor restarted after joining in with his friends in a quiet, murmurous 'thanks' to the waiter before he scurried off to serve the third table down. "Celestia told me that my main role is to provide the power for actually getting to the planet."

The straw protruding from Twilight's cloudy lemonade left the unicorn's mouth as she spoke. "And how's that work?" She asked, sounding a little more enthused all of a sudden.

"I don't know..." Cantor replied, sucking at his carrot juice through a straw poised in the corner of his mouth. "I think it's got something to do with somehow capturing my magic and expending it as energy. But as far as how she's going to do that... I'm clueless; she did say it was 'confidential' after all..."

"Like a secret?" Pinkie Pie asked with an ever-immutable smile, popping the tab on her fifth can of soda.

"Exactly like a secret, Pinkie." Cantor replied with a nod.

Rainbow leaned forward and stared past Twilight to look at Cantor. "And when-abouts are you leaving again? I swear you've told us, but, I'm also pretty sure I wasn't paying attention at the time." She said with an amused snort.

"Story of your life, huh, Dash?" Cantor asked quickly and quietly.

"What was that?" The sky blue pegasus asked, sounding more as though she genuinely didn't hear what the stallion said.

Cantor smirked, and with equal haste and volume, responded with "As if to prove my point... Anyway," He continued, taking another sip of his vibrant orange drink. "I think I'm going around late October time; the twenty-something-th..."

Twilight smiled and rolled her eyes. "I can't see it as being a date to forget..." She remarked dryly.

In response, Cantor just carelessly pawed the air. "Aw, I don't worry about dates..."

"No." Twilight replied darkly. "Clearly you don't."

"What's that mean?" The alicorn asked back, seeming lost.

Twilight slid down the back of the plastic, 'leather-feel' booth a little and levitated her drink over to her, pulling the straw in daintily with her tongue. "Oh, I don't know..." She continued sarcastically, making a point of pondering towards the ceiling. "Maybe you'd forget something like... My birthday..."

Cantor sat straight up, and with a face of shock, placed his hoof over his chest. "I got you something, didn't I!?" He asked loudly. Realising his volume, the stallion seemed to shrink a little, though nopony else in the restaurant seemed to notice initially, anyway.

Twilight gave an amused huff. "Yeah, a baby!" She said, placing a hoof over her ever so slightly pot belly. Everypony seemed to find this comment amusing, and a brief giggle was shared at the alicorn's expense. Even the timid Fluttershy gave a cute little chortle.

"No," Cantor continued, red in the face. "I got you that underground hot springs - thing..." Twilight raised her eyebrows. "I know it was a bit... unconventional, but I just remembered how you said you were fascinated by caves, but that their cold temperature - and I remember the specific word - was 'unpleasant'." He said, shifting his position on the booth. "See? I do remember some things - and besides, 'the thought that counts', you know? Also," The alicorn continued, riding his next point in on a more empowered note. "I remember that cloak you seemed so interested in, and I got you that."

Upon hearing this, the lavender unicorn sat straight up, her eyes piercing and in a state of shock. "Yes, you did, Cantor." She responded forcefully. "Yes you did 'acquire' the one-of-a-kind Wolfsbane Cloak of Invisibility that, oddly enough, went 'missing' from the Saddlesage Museum only the day before my birthday." Twilight frowned and pouted at the alicorn, but all he did in response was grin. "You're such an idiot." She finished bluntly.

"An idiot that gets stuff done..." Cantor replied with his provocative grin. Twilight gave the stallion a curt glance, but fell apart when she once again accepted that she couldn't stay mad at him - there was no use. "Besides," Cantor continued, slurping at his drink. "If you're so upset about it, why didn't you give it back?"

Twilight rolled her eyes and took a mouthful of her lemonade. "Are you crazy?" She asked casually, not needing to have been looking to tell Cantor and Rainbow just met each other's glance. Sighing helplessly, the purple mare continued. "If I did that, then it'd look like I stole it in the first place... Besides, that cloak is one of the most hallowed magical articles in existence. I'm taking that to the grave..." She said with a self-supporting smirk.

"Neat." A certain blue pegasus remarked all but discretely in response to Twilight's statement.

Cantor, coming over tired all of a sudden, rubbed his eyes gently before raising the cool glass of his drink to his eyelids and softly pressed the soothing surface to his somewhat 'rough' eyes. "Anyway, as I was saying..." He continued, his eyes closed, listening only to the rain hammering against the glass outside and the unending ambience of cutlery. "I'm going on this... uh, 'mission' much, much later on, but before that, I need to go through some kind of 'training course' Celestia's arranged." The thought of a military course - even if it was only two weeks or so, made Cantor's somewhat pampered muscles ache already.

"But that's still a ways away, yes?" Rarity proposed with understanding eyes. "However you know what they (whoever 'they' may be) say that 'time flies when having fun', and by the looks of things," The white mare continued with an off-grin. "You lead a rather... 'recreative' lifestyle..."

"Oh, my no..." Fluttershy piped up with a smile. "I've been through the whole pregnancy business, Cantor..." The stallion opened his eyes and stared pleadingly at the butterscotch pegasus. "And I can let you know now, it's not exactly what I'd describe as a 'stroll in the park'..."

Following a short pause, Fluttershy clasped her hooves together in mild glee, and proclaimed with a squee, "Yay! I used a figure of speech again!"

“What do I need to do this for again?” Cantor asked as two grey unicorns dressed in lab coats slid a very snug fitting metal harness over his horn via two six foot poles on either side. The rust-haired alicorn was the only inhabitant of the sterile white room once the harness was secured around his head and the two other stallions had left. He sat there on his haunches, his head heavy from the abundance of thick cables and wires protruding from the metal around his horn and receding into the ceiling. There were no features in the room: no posters, no colour, even the door seemed to melt into the walls once it was closed. Cantor felt as though he was sitting in a giant square teapot, the only orientating feature was a thin rectangular window sunk in to one of the walls, reinforced with thick wire mesh. Princess Celestia and another two lab coats, a pegasus mare who looked barely older than Cantor and a dull lime coated, balding earth pony stallion who looked a little over a century stood on either side of the celestial deity.

“Ready, Cantor?” Came Celestia’s soothing voice from a disclosed speaker somewhere within the walls.

“Wait. No!” Shouted Cantor in response, holding his forehooves out to stop whatever she was going to do. “Why am I doing this again?” He asked slowly, returning his frantic hooves to between his knees.

Celestia kindly went over the plan to Cantor. After all, he did have something of borderline phobia attached to his head, and the princess knew it. The stallion kept having visions of cogs turning and vices crushing and twisting his horn until it splintered like fibreglass. The pain that would bring would be unimaginable. “We need to put some of your magical power into the Peripharous crystal to power the ship that will take you to the new planet.”

Cantor stared blankly and a sigh could be heard over the intercom. “The Peripharous crystal is the rarest element on the planet, it is thought to have come from several sister stones that are scattered throughout the world. And I use that term quite literally.” The alicorn mare chuckled lightly, closely followed by the two scientists which stood either side of her. “This particular crystal we have here cannot be magically dated: we attempted to probe it, but it absorbs magic like water on a dry sponge.” She looked behind her for a brief moment before returning. “That crystal was found seventeen hundred feet underground. The rest of the stones could be absolutely anywhere on or in our planet.” She spoke with a slight hint of remorse.

“Now, do you have any more questions before we start?” Asked Celestia, sounding ever so slightly impatient.

“Why do I have to be alone?” Asked Cantor. Even through the thick glass, into the darkened room behind, Cantor could see the princess’ face fall in sympathy.

“I’m really very sorry, Cantor, but as you know, magic, when pinpointed at a singularity can distort space-time.” She sighed a second time. “Again, I’m truly very sorry, and please don’t be offended by this, but. That much magic is dangerous to any nearby ponies. Even us behind these walls...”

Cantor nodded firmly and looked the princess in her dark eyes. “Alright.” He said strongly. “Go for it.”

Outside of the tiled white room, Celestia stood on some kind of catwalk peering into the room for observation. Behind her and the two other ponies who clutched clipboards in one of their hooves and a quill in their mouths, was a dark, cathedral-like room scattered with long desks of yet more ponies in lab coats which spanned the entire length of the room. On the left wall, there were enormous screens displaying various diagrams, charts and wavelength frequency probes. All the wires seemed to lead into the room where Cantor was being held. They trailed the walls and ceiling like great plastic cobwebs and the whole room was cast under a deep blue – nearly ultraviolet light as the ponies prepared for the magical purge to begin.

Several ponies on the laboratory floor monitored large boxes about twice the height of themselves containing various coloured lights and gauges where the needle was suspended in oil. All of them were relaxed against the zero mark, awaiting their power surge. The rest of the room stood back and stared up in anticipation at all the flat-lined graphs and zeroes, eagerly awaiting their results. Celestia turned to the stallion beside the entrance to the clinical room and they exchanged trusting, yet pain-stricken nods. The dark green earth pony lifted up a large syringe filled with a luminous purple substance: a powerful tranquilizer that could knock out even a fully grown dragon in a matter of seconds. Just in case anything went wrong.

The mare to Celestia’s right dropped her head to the control panel. Adorned with various levers, switches and buttons, it could take one years to learn what they all meant, but that pegasus could operate this machine with her eyes closed if she wanted too. She often did to joke around when all the unicorns on the project would take a turn to see how their magical strength compared. However, this machine had been designed and built for Cantor, and the strongest unicorn there barely made it past the three-decimal place mark.

The young cream coated mare with strong coffee coloured hair flipped several small metal switches in a well practiced sequence before turning most of the knobs to ‘maximum’. The machine began to whir and a siren could be heard outside. Cantor felt a rush of cold air purge the room of impurities while the green eyed pegasus calibrated the machine in respect to Cantor's theoretical maximum: levels so extreme they were almost laughable. Once that work was complete, she rested her hoof over a thick metal lever at the right hoof side of the observation window. And turned to the princess for her orders.

“Are you ready Cantor?” Came Celestia’s voice over the intercom. The machine’s loud hum made communication less than easy. However, Cantor could still hear the princess’ voice clearly over the din.

“Will it hurt?” Asked Cantor, to which Celestia looked nervously off to the side, biting her lip.

“Maybe a little.” She replied, turning around. “But I’ve known you go through worse.”

“That doesn’t fill me with a lot of confidence, Celestia.” Cantor replied jokingly before a long, oppressive sigh. “Go on then… Power it up.”

Celestia mouthed the word “Now” to the pegasus and she dropped onto the chunky red lever. A bright red light appeared over the top of the observation window as the machine exploded into a violent cacophony of buzzing, like an enormous swarm of hornets. The tubes coming from Cantor’s horn juddered and trembled as power rocketed through them like nopony had ever seen. Instantly, the graphs and screens outside flared to life with great arcs of data and numbers. The ponies quickly began taking notes, their heads bobbing up and down from their clipboards to the screens, then back to the clipboards.

Cantor screamed in agony as the machine sucked him dry. His wings flared behind his back and smashed into either side of the room, cracking the tiles slightly before they began flapping uselessly in some desperate attempt to dilute the pain. The mare who had turned on the machine became scared and went to hit a giant red button labelled ‘EMERGENCY STOP’, but she was halted inches away from it by Celestia’s gold-clad hoof. The two mares looked at each other. Celestia appeared rather macabre in relation to the young mare’s distraught, wild eyes. She turned back to the torture she was creating, and although it was happening to somepony she loved, she silently urged the machine to do more.

Needless to say, she felt vile in doing so, yet she needed this to happen, she needed all of Cantor’s power in one burst and damn her soul to Tartarus if she wasn’t going to get it. She knew Cantor wouldn’t question her actions; they were for the best, but . The pegasus returned to the stallion writhing around in pain through the window and felt so ashamed that she had brought this upon him. She could see tears pouring down his face from his tightly wound eyes and she had half a mind to square up to Celestia and bring an end to his torture.

Cantor’s vision pulsed red. The only sounds he could hear was his own desperate screaming and the machine's drew more and more magic from him. He gritted his teeth together whenever he took in a breath before hollering at the top of his lungs for it all to end. He could feel the searing heat of tears of agony roll down his cheeks as he screwed his eyes tight to try and stop them from falling. By now, he was on his back with his wings twitching rigidly beneath him. His whole body shook and tensed in waves as the sensation of being electrocuted coursed through his conscious mind.

“Please!” He managed to cry out over the cacophonous grinding of the machine. He could feel himself becoming hotter and his teeth begin to grow sharp as he pleaded for the princess to stop this madness. “Please! Tia! Please stop it!” He wailed, rolling over onto his knees as the pain began to fade. “I can’t stop it!” He kept trying to reason. He could feel the darkness closing in around him like it did the moment before he tore Pinkie’s leg open. And then his eyes went black, and then Cantor was gone.

All of a sudden, the magical energy readings skyrocketed and errors appeared all over the gigantic screens outside where the top data values failed to display half of what Cantor was producing. A shrill screaming of a bell rang throughout the facility and powerful red lights whirled rapidly around, flooding the room with the colour of blood as ponies dropped their items with a panicked din, and crowded for the single flight of metal stairs to the emergency exit. The ancient earth pony tugged at Celestia’s foreleg, proclaiming “We have to go, now!” With the utmost urgency.

“Canopy… Canopy! The tranquilizer, now!” Shouted Celestia towards the earth pony with the needle who reached for the door handle. His hoof nearly made contact before the entire front of the wall blew out accompanied by a skull-shaking shock wave, sending chunks of rubble scattering over the lab’s pristine floor, both operators and princess Celestia as well.The earth pony in possession of the needle gingerly peered through the huge gap in the wall just in time to see Cantor release a huge burst of jet black magic from between his trembling hooves.

Cantor roared in fury as the huge dark shockwave tore through the lab, bursting gauges, shattering monitors and overturning tables. Air conditioning tubes and steam pipes ruptured and exploded as Cantor’s devastating spell cast havoc through the once tidy laboratory. Many ponies stumbled and fell to the floor, yet an unlucky sum of them were sent riding the shockwave into the wall where their figures crunched against the hard concrete.

The dark green pony lunged forward at Cantor, plunging the needle into his neck and slamming down the plunger, getting as much of the luminous chemical into the alicorn as possible before Cantor brought his hoof around and caught him on the nose. He fell to the floor and crawled over to the corner of the room as Cantor encroached evilly towards him. The white alicorn, mane ablaze and eyes hidden behind a dark shroud raised a foreleg and began to twist his hoof with an evil grin carved from his maniacal teeth. The cornered earth pony felt his jaw begin to stretch and snap as the device around Cantor’s horn radiated a shadowy darkness.

Then all of a sudden, everything went quiet... The gale-force winds that had materialised out of nowhere died down to nothing, the deafening buzz of the device fixed to Cantor's head sparked silent as smoke began to lazily drift into the ravaged room, and Cantor's vicious snarls died down to slow and absent-minded gasping. The deep green stallion's jaw relaxed just before his cheeks split and Cantor’s eyes turned back into the orange discs everypony recognised. Slowly, and with no sense of even trying to stay upright, Cantor swayed on his hooves. On the second sway, the green earth pony propped up against the wall nudged Cantor’s shoulder and the alicorn fell like a tree, landing with a heavy thump on the scuffed floor, bouncing an inch or two before settling for good.

Celestia picked herself up, dusted herself down and stared at the carnage all around her which all had been caused in mere seconds. Burst pipes were jetting out steam, shredded wires were hanging from the ceiling and sparking against each other noisily. Water was leaking from various sources around the room and the once tidy scientists were a squirming mass at the end of the room. The princess turned to Cantor who was sleeping remarkably soundly on the floor. wires hung ragged above him and the cast iron alloy around his horn had atomized in the blast. His horn glowed a dim purple and was leaking a translucent lilac fluid which began to pool around his head.

The princess turned to the mare and old age stallion who were forced painfully up against the guard rail and helped each to their hooves. Once the mare was up, the princess pulled her towards the unconscious alicorn and instructed her to take him specifically to Ponyville hospital. She watched as the scuffed mare took one of Cantor’s forelegs over her shoulders and dragged him out of the more than adequate opening with the help of Canopy, the dark green stallion who had knocked the alicorn out, who slung Cantor’s other leg around his shoulders.

“Oh, my…” Muttered a remorseful Celestia as the young stallion was dragged away. She cast one more look over the chaos, scanning the room and evaluating the damage. It looked as if a monsoon had washed through, carrying stones and shards of metal which had imbedded themselves deep into solid concrete. The princess clucked her tongue, disappointed with her impatient attitude which had caused one of her most loyal and valuable subjects great anguish - as well as much unneeded destruction. The reality of what she had done suddenly sank in. She was responsible for all of this; she could have stopped this. But instead, she exploited her friend. She had tortured him for power. The thought made her eyes prick with tears.

“I... I'm so sorry, I... I just…” She whispered as Cantor’s shins bumped painfully down the flight of stairs and his limp body was slowly hauled out of the room.

Author's Notes:

:( <--- This is a sad face. :(

Ohh, no. That's a bad thing that's happened 3:

Peeling away from the tragedy, in the café scene, I was wondering whether Twilight has actually sent a letter like that before, or something similar. I know Pinkie sent a report on how some friends like to be left alone sometimes in that episode with the bald donkey, but I dunno :P

Also, what a risqué chapter... :P Speaking of which, I find it impressive that one can pull a sensitive lesson such as 'the real me' from a talk about bondage... Th... The real... m-me...? I don't know who the 'real me' is, but I know it's not YOU! *Dada dawdawdawdawda daw....

(P.S, 'tsk' is a word - I looked it up and everything...)